2015 Circuit of the Americas - World Challenge

2015 was the twenty-sixth consecutive year for the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) Pirelli World Challenge series. There were twelve race weekends – at some of these events, the series shared the venue with IndyCar and the United Sportscar Championship. On the other weekends the World Challenge championship served as the feature event.

For the first time, the season opened in early March at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). The second event of the season, in support of the IndyCar series, was at Saint Petersburg - in previous years St. Pete marked the start of the championship. Following Saint Petersburg were races at Long Beach, Barber Motorsports Park, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Detroit, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Miller Motorsport Park, Sonoma Raceway and the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

In 2015, the series introduced two new classes – Grand Touring Sportsman (GTA) and GT Cup (GTC). Drivers and teams were now vying for titles in seven categories.

Grand Touring (GT) – This is the series quickest class and is predominantly cars that would compete in the FIA GT3 category. Examples of vehicles racing in this group include: Acura TLX-GT, Aston Martin Vantage V12, Porsche 911 GT3 R, Nissan GT-R GT3, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, McLaren 650S GT3, Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3, Bentley Continental GT3, BMW Z4 GT3, Audi R8 LMS, Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 FL2 and Ferrari 458 Italia GT3.
Grand Touring Sportsman (GTA) – This class includes the same vehicles as GT. However, the drivers are not considered professionals. Competitors in this category are evaluated after each event and based on their performance may be elevated to the GT class.
GT Cup (GTC) – This is a spec class for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.
Grand Touring Sport (GTS) – The cars in this group are similar to the GT vehicles but have additional preparation restrictions. This class is mainly comprised of Ford (Mustang Boss 302), Chevrolet (Camaro Z28) and Porsche (Cayman) products. In 2015, the GTS category witnessed an influx of new manufacturers: Maserati Gran Turismo, Lotus Evora GT4 and Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
Touring Car (TC) – This class is for smaller sedans and sports cars which are allowed some performance modifications. Examples of vehicles competing in this group include: Honda Accord, Mazda MX-5, Volkswagen Golf, Nissan Altima, Volkswagen Jetta, Nissan 370Z and Porsche Boxster.
Touring Car A (TCA) – Many of the cars competing in this class are the same as those found in Touring Car. What sets them apart is the minimum amount of modifications that can be made – most changes are to improve the safety of the vehicles.
Touring Car B (TCB) - The slowest of all the World Challenge categories is based on the Sports Car Club of America’s B-Spec class. Examples of vehicles competing in TCB include: Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Mazda 2 and Mini Cooper.

The first three rounds of the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car series was held at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Titled the 2015 Nissan Grand Prix of Texas brought to you by Motul, drivers in the Touring category would compete in three forty-minute races around the twenty-turn 3.4-mile road course.

The first-lap of round-one and the leaders head for corner-two while the rest of the field streams through turn-one. Leading the way is fourth place starter, Cory Friedman in the Mac Papers/Hastings Fiberglass/Porsche Cayman. Drawing alongside is Friedman’s teammate and the pole-sitter, Cody Ellsworth. Behind this pair is front row starter, Ernie Francis, Jr. in the Breathless Performance Mazda MX-5.

Cody Ellsworth opened the season with a pole position in the Touring Car category and a victory. In race two, Ellsworth shared the front row with the Mazda MX-5 of Adam Poland. He inherited the lead and won after Cory Friedman and Ernie Francis, Jr and then Vesko Kozarov and Andrew Aquilante took themselves out of contention. In the finale and after much dicing, Ellsworth grabbed the final spot on the podium.

Touring Car A competitor, Tony Rivera’s performance mirrored that of Touring Car driver, Cody Ellsworth. Driving the No. 86 Eurotech sponsored Scion FRS Coupe, Rivera battled with Robby Foley in the weekend’s first event and prevailed. In the day’s second race, he grabbed another victory. On Sunday in wet conditions, Rivera started seventh in class but managed to capture a third-place finish.

The No. 3 Nissan Altima was driven by Vesko Kozarov. Without a qualifying time, Kozarov started last in Saturday’s first race but moved through the field and finished thirteenth - earning the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start Award. In the second event, he was dicing for the lead with Andrew Aquilante when the two made contact – he was eighth. In the finale, Kozarov moved from sixth to first for the win.

The Touring Car B category was a sweep for Johan Schwartz. Schwartz driving the No. 25 ZERO Cancer / CASgroup / Custom Die Casts Tech Sport Racing Chevrolet Sonic started each race on the class pole. In rounds one and two, he was challenged by the Mini Cooper of Glenn Nixon but led flag-to-flag. In the final contest, there was contact between Schwartz and Nixon but Schwartz was able to regroup and take the win.

Teammates, Cory Friedman and Cody Ellsworth, gave notice to the rest of the Touring Car competitors that they would be championship threats. Friedman drove the No. 03 Mac Papers / Hastings Fiberglass sponsored Porsche Cayman. In rounds one and three, he captured the runner-up position. Friedman started third in race-two and was leading when he had contact with Ernie Francis, Jr. – he finished sixteenth.

Racing.ca / LaptopScreen.com entered Mini Coopers for Canadians – Glenn Nixon, Wei Lu and Andrei Kisel. Nixon proved to be the quickest of the three drivers. In rounds one and two Nixon battled with the Chevrolet Sonic of the eventual winner, Johan Schwartz – he captured the runner-up spot in both races. On Sunday, Nixon made contact with Schwartz earning him a drive-through penalty, he finished third.

Compass 360 entered two Honda Civic Si in the Touring Car A category. Sharing the No. 71 Honda were Paul Holton and team principal, Karl Thomson. Holton competed in Saturday’s races and took the early lead in both of them. He was unable to maintain first place and recorded second and fourth place finishes. On Sunday, Thomson handled the driving duties and was seventh at the checkered flag.

In the season opener, Adam Poland was having a great battle for second place in Touring Car with the Porsche driven by Cory Friedman. During the closing laps, Poland’s Mazda MX-5 suffered a mechanical issue and he finished third. Poland started on the pole for the weekend’s second event and grabbed the runner-up spot. On Sunday’s, he was unable to maintain the pace of the leaders and was ninth at the checker.

Defending Touring Car A champion, Jason Wolfe drove the No. 36 Kia Forte Koup. Wolfe’s season did not get off to a great start, in race one, the driver of the Wolfe Trucking sponsored Kia finished eighth in class. It got better in race-two, Wolfe challenged Tony Rivera for the lead and eventually took the runner-up spot. He saved the best for last, capturing the victory and earned the StopTech Brake Late Award.

Former Sports Car Club of America National Champion, Cody Fergus was one of twelve rookies in the field. Competing in the Touring Car category, Fergus drove the No. 00 USLED / Axis Roofing sponsored Porsche Cayman. Fergus made a great start in race one to take second place but would ultimately finish sixth. He fared much better in round two and nabbed the final spot on the podium. In Sunday’s race, Fergus was fourth.

On the way to a second in the 2014 Touring Car A championship, series veteran, Shea Holbrook won five races. Holbrook’s weekend at COTA started well with a third-place finish in the first race of 2015. In round two, she repeated her performance earning the final spot on the podium. The driver of the No. 67 Honda Civic Si spun in Sunday’s contest and was fourth in class at the checkered flag.

One car, three races and three drivers – the math works. NDP Motorsports entered a TCA prepared Honda Civic for Neal dePaz, Philipie Merjech and Juan Carlos Casa Diego. DePaz competed in race one and finished tenth in class. In the second event, Merjech also collected a tenth but won the Optima Battery Best Standing Start Award. Saving the best for last, Casa Diego captured the runner-up spot in the finale.

Rookie, Van Svenson delivered a couple of solid performances in his series debut. Svenson drove the Touring Class B No. 2 Hack Racing Chevrolet Sonic. In Saturday’s first race, he started second in class and lost a position to the Mini of Glenn Nixon before the checkered flag. In the day’s second contest, Svenson was gridded fourth and took another third. Starting fourth on Sunday, he finished fifth.

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	1	TC	Cody Ellsworth	Mac Papers/Hastings Fiberglass Porsche Cayman	17
2	4	TC	Cory Friedman	Mac Papers/Hastings Fiberglass Porsche Cayman	17
3	5	TC	Adam Poland	Edge Addicts/Texas Track Works Mazda MX-5	17
4	11	TC	Jason Cherry	Skullcandy Nissan Altima	17
5	2	TC	Ernie Francis Jr	Breathless Performance/Time4Learning Mazda MX-5	17
6	3	TC	Corey Fergus	USLED/AxisRoofing/AERO/RSS Porsche Cayman	17
7	8	TC	Ian Lacy	VP Racing Fuels Ford Mustang V6	17
8	9	TC	John Weisberg	REDCOM Labs/ColorTrack/Red Line Porsche Cayman	17
9	10	TC	Austin Snader	Evert Fresh Corp/SR Enterprises Mazda MX-5	17
10	15	TC	Randy Hale	Trans Aero/Hale Propeller Mazda MX-5	17
11	14	TC	Jeff Altenburg	HPA Volkswagen Jetta GLI	17
12	12	TC	Paul Street	Honda/HPD/Megan/RV6Perf/MOMO Honda Accord	17
13	0	TC	Vesko Kozarov	Nissan Altima	16
14	16	TC	Dinah Weisberg	REDCOM Labs/ColorTrack/Red Line Mazda MX-5	16
15	7	TC	Nathan Stacy	Volvo C30	14
16	6	TC	Andrew Aquilante	Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Perf Ford Mustang V6	13
17	13	TC	Alex Welch	HPA Volkswagen Jetta GLI	0
18	17	TC	Michael Pettiford	Pontiac Solstice GXP	0
19	19	TCA	Tony Rivera	Eurotech Scion FRS Coupe	17
20	20	TCA	Paul Holton	Honda Performance Development Honda Civic Si	17
21	28	TCA	Shea Holbrook	Honda Civic Si	17
22	18	TCA	Robby Foley	TechSportRacing.com Mazda RX-8	16
23	24	TCA	Patrick Seguin	Let s Hug It Out Honda Civic Si	16
24	22	TCA	Kevin Anderson	TechSportRacing.com Mazda RX8	16
25	27	TCA	Emilee Tominovich	Honda Performance Development Honda Civic Si	16
26	21	TCA	Jason Wolfe	Wolfe Trucking Kia Forte Koup	16
27	26	TCA	Samantha Tan	Kia Forte Koup	5
28	25	TCA	Neal dePaz	NDP Motorsports Honda Civic	5
29	23	TCA	Kris Wright	Wright Automotive Group Kia Forte Koup	17
30	29	TCB	Johan Schwartz	Chevrolet Sonic	15
31	42	TCB	Glenn Nixon	Racing.ca/LaptopScreen.com Mini Cooper	15
32	30	TCB	Van Svenson	Chevrolet Sonic	15
33	34	TCB	James Wilson	Black Armor Helmets Mazda 2	15
34	32	TCB	Wei Lu	Racing.ca/LaptopScreen.com Mini Cooper	15
35	33	TCB	Jason Fichter	Surf Fire & Security Mini Cooper	15
36	38	TCB	PJ Groenke	Verax.ca/Tundra/Mulligan Gold Mini Cooper	15
37	35	TCB	Chris Holter	FuelClothing/Spy Optics/GoPuck Mazda 2	15
38	37	TCB	Tom Noble	West Real Estate Mini Cooper	15
39	36	TCB	Jeremy Rohan	Ford Fiesta	15
40	40	TCB	Jay Salinsky	Honda Fit	14
41	39	TCB	Marc Sherrin	GSpeed/Steadfast Funding Ford Fiesta	14
42	41	TCB	Timothy Mincey Sr	Dietrich sNative Stay/Slyon Honda Fit	14
43	31	TCB	Andrei Kisel	Racing.ca/LaptopScreen.com Mini Cooper	15
44	43	TCB	Steve Taake	Black Armor Helmets/MAZDASPEED Mazda 2	0

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	2	TC	Cody Ellsworth	Mac Papers/Hastings Fiberglass Porsche Cayman	15
2	1	TC	Adam Poland	Edge Addicts/Texas Track Works Mazda MX-5	15
3	4	TC	Corey Fergus	USLED/AxisRoofing/AERO/RSS Porsche Cayman	15
4	7	TC	Jason Cherry	Skullcandy Nissan Altima	15
5	5	TC	Andrew Aquilante	Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Perf Ford Mustang V6	15
6	12	TC	Nathan Stacy	Volvo C30	15
7	8	TC	John Weisberg	REDCOM Labs/ColorTrack/Red Line Porsche Cayman	15
8	9	TC	Vesko Kozarov	Nissan Altima	15
9	10	TC	Ian Lacy	VP Racing Fuels Ford Mustang V6	15
10	11	TC	Austin Snader	Evert Fresh Corp/SR Enterprises Mazda MX-5	15
11	15	TC	Paul Street	Honda/HPD/Megan/RV6Perf/MOMO Honda Accord	15
12	16	TC	Dinah Weisberg	REDCOM Labs/ColorTrack/Red Line Mazda MX-5	12
13	13	TC	Jeff Altenburg	HPA Volkswagen Jetta GLI	11
14	17	TC	Alex Welch	HPA Volkswagen Jetta GLI	6
15	6	TC	Ernie Francis Jr	Breathless Performance/Time4Learning Mazda MX-5	4
16	3	TC	Cory Friedman	Mac Papers/Hastings Fiberglass Porsche Cayman	4
17	14	TC	Randy Hale	Trans Aero/Hale Propeller Mazda MX-5	0
18	18	TC	Michael Pettiford	Pontiac Solstice GXP	0
19	20	TCA	Tony Rivera	Eurotech Scion FRS Coupe	15
20	23	TCA	Jason Wolfe	Wolfe Trucking Kia Forte Koup	15
21	24	TCA	Shea Holbrook	Honda Civic Si	15
22	21	TCA	Paul Holton	Honda Performance Development Honda Civic Si	15
23	28	TCA	Patrick Seguin	Let s Hug It Out Honda Civic Si	15
24	29	TCA	Emilee Tominovich	Honda Performance Development Honda Civic Si	15
25	19	TCA	Robby Foley	TechSportRacing.com Mazda RX-8	15
26	22	TCA	Kris Wright	Wright Automotive Group Kia Forte Koup	14
27	25	TCA	Kevin Anderson	TechSportRacing.com Mazda RX8	12
28	27	TCA	Philipie Merjech	NDP Motorsports Honda Civic	8
29	26	TCA	Samantha Tan	Kia Forte Koup	0
30	31	TCB	Johan Schwartz	Chevrolet Sonic	14
31	30	TCB	Glenn Nixon	Racing.ca/LaptopScreen.com Mini Cooper	14
32	34	TCB	Van Svenson	Chevrolet Sonic	14
33	32	TCB	Andrei Kisel	Racing.ca/LaptopScreen.com Mini Cooper	14
34	42	TCB	Jay Salinsky	Honda Fit	14
35	35	TCB	Wei Lu	Racing.ca/LaptopScreen.com Mini Cooper	14
36	38	TCB	PJ Groenke	Verax.ca/Tundra/Mulligan Gold Mini Cooper	14
37	40	TCB	Jeremy Rohan	Ford Fiesta	14
38	33	TCB	Chris Holter	FuelClothing/Spy Optics/GoPuck Mazda 2	13
39	36	TCB	Jason Fichter	Surf Fire & Security Mini Cooper	13
40	39	TCB	Tom Noble	West Real Estate Mini Cooper	13
41	41	TCB	Marc Sherrin	GSpeed/Steadfast Funding Ford Fiesta	13
42	43	TCB	Timothy Mincey Sr	Dietrich sNative Stay/Slyon Honda Fit	13
43	37	TCB	James Wilson	Black Armor Helmets Mazda 2	11
44	44	TCB	Steve Taake	Black Armor Helmets/MAZDASPEED Mazda 2	0

FINISH	START	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	6	TC	Vesko Kozarov	Nissan Altima	15
2	7	TC	Cory Friedman	Mac Papers/Hastings Fiberglass Porsche Cayman	15
3	5	TC	Cody Ellsworth	Mac Papers/Hastings Fiberglass Porsche Cayman	15
4	2	TC	Corey Fergus	USLED/AxisRoofing/AERO/RSS Porsche Cayman	15
5	8	TC	Jason Cherry	Skullcandy Nissan Altima	15
6	9	TC	Nathan Stacy	Volvo C30	15
7	3	TC	Ernie Francis Jr	Breathless Performance/Time4Learning Mazda MX-5	15
8	1	TC	Andrew Aquilante	Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Perf Ford Mustang V6	15
9	4	TC	Adam Poland	Edge Addicts/Texas Track Works Mazda MX-5	15
10	15	TC	Alex Welch	HPA Volkswagen Jetta GLI	15
11	14	TC	Paul Street	Honda/HPD/Megan/RV6Perf/MOMO Honda Accord	15
12	11	TC	Austin Snader	Evert Fresh Corp/SR Enterprises Mazda MX-5	15
13	16	TC	Dinah Weisberg	REDCOM Labs/ColorTrack/Red Line Mazda MX-5	5
14	12	TC	John Weisberg	REDCOM Labs/ColorTrack/Red Line Porsche Cayman	4
15	10	TC	Ian Lacy	VP Racing Fuels Ford Mustang V6	4
16	13	TC	Jeff Altenburg	HPA Volkswagen Jetta GLI	0
17	17	TC	Randy Hale	Trans Aero/Hale Propeller Mazda MX-5	0
18	18	TC	Michael Pettiford	Pontiac Solstice GXP	0
19	23	TCA	Jason Wolfe	Wolfe Trucking Kia Forte Koup	15
20	27	TCA	Philipie Merjech	NDP Motorsports Honda Civic	15
21	20	TCA	Tony Rivera	Eurotech Scion FRS Coupe	15
22	28	TCA	Patrick Seguin	Let s Hug It Out Honda Civic Si	15
23	24	TCA	Shea Holbrook	Honda Civic Si	14
24	29	TCA	Emilee Tominovich	Honda Performance Development Honda Civic Si	14
25	21	TCA	Karl Thomson	Honda Performance Development Honda Civic Si	14
26	19	TCA	Robby Foley	TechSportRacing.com Mazda RX-8	14
27	22	TCA	Kris Wright	Wright Automotive Group Kia Forte Koup	14
28	25	TCA	Kevin Anderson	TechSportRacing.com Mazda RX8	2
29	26	TCA	Samantha Tan	Kia Forte Koup	0
30	31	TCB	Johan Schwartz	Chevrolet Sonic	14
31	36	TCB	Jason Fichter	Surf Fire & Security Mini Cooper	14
32	30	TCB	Glenn Nixon	Racing.ca/LaptopScreen.com Mini Cooper	14
33	37	TCB	James Wilson	Black Armor Helmets Mazda 2	14
34	34	TCB	Van Svenson	Chevrolet Sonic	14
35	35	TCB	Wei Lu	Racing.ca/LaptopScreen.com Mini Cooper	14
36	33	TCB	Chris Holter	FuelClothing/Spy Optics/GoPuck Mazda 2	14
37	38	TCB	PJ Groenke	Verax.ca/Tundra/Mulligan Gold Mini Cooper	14
38	32	TCB	Andrei Kisel	Racing.ca/LaptopScreen.com Mini Cooper	14
39	40	TCB	Jeremy Rohan	Ford Fiesta	13
40	39	TCB	Tom Noble	West Real Estate Mini Cooper	13
41	41	TCB	Marc Sherrin	GSpeed/Steadfast Funding Ford Fiesta	13
42	43	TCB	Timothy Mincey Sr	Dietrich sNative Stay/Slyon Honda Fit	13
43	42	TCB	Jay Salinsky	Honda Fit	12
44	44	TCB	Steve Taake	Black Armor Helmets/MAZDASPEED Mazda 2	0

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